It’s late Wednesday morning and the independent distributor for Mission Foods has finished his required route. His day started at 4:30 a.m., when he awoke to get a start on rolling tortilla shells and chips into one of Gastonia’s biggest warehouse stores.

An hour later he was in Mount Holly, then back to Gastonia before another trip to Belmont. A stop by his storage building and Argabrite is rolling his truck and trailer into Target’s back parking lot. He isn’t technically on the delivery schedule for the day, but it makes sense, the Gastonia resident says, to let his stores know he’s paying attention to the products they allow him to put onto shelves.

Argabrite checks the expiration dates on the groceries he delivers. He counts the black and orange Halloween chips left on the shelf. Those have been selling well, and the distributor makes a note to restock the display the next day — the one that will start at 3:30 a.m.

The valuable real estate he’s earned at Target, a highly visible space on the end of an aisle, is precious enough to deserve an extra trip, he explains.

Working for a life

A Mission distributor for nearly four months, Argabrite gambled six years of savings to buy the route that takes him from Forest City to Belmont, with stops in Shelby, Boiling Springs, Kings Mountain, Gastonia, and Mount Holly.

He also gave up a job driving an 18-wheeler for $22 an hour with a 401(k) and benefits. For 16 years, that gig provided for his family, but Argabrite was feeling the pinch.

But the recession slowed business and recovery was slow to take shape. The 50 to 60 hours a week he was working years ago dwindled to 32.

“I was looking for something that could give my family a better way of life,” Argabrite says.

The Mission route cost him. He’s hesitant to say how much but a number of distributors will put the figure in the five-digit range.

Plus, he pays for his own storage building and transportation. The Chevy Silverado he drives guzzles around $80 worth of gas every time he stops at the pump.

He carries the justification for the risk in his wallet — a photo of his 2-year-old daughter, Karlee.

He put her in a new preschool since starting the job, and it’s one of the few topics that can divert Argabrite from his relentless praise for the product he delivers.

She has music classes now and is learning Spanish and sign language. Just saying so makes Argabrite stand a little taller while he unloads his trailer.

Page 2 of 3 - In short, Argabrite says, he’s making his own opportunity instead of waiting for someone to offer him one.

“I don’t have to get up in the morning and worry about not having work,” he said. “It’s up to me. If I don’t have enough customers, I can go out and find more.”

The uphill climb

Creating one’s own opportunity — making work instead of taking it — has gotten a lot of press as the U.S. struggles to recover from its financial downturn.

The numbers send mixed messages about the state of entrepreneurship in North Carolina.

Wages were up much of last year for private establishments, according to a State of Small Business and Entrepreneurship report released by the state’s Small Business Administration.

But the number of new employer businesses, as well as sole proprietorships, declined in 2011. That echoes a global trend in entrepreneurship.

Tony Marder is a local business coach with the international ActionCOACH organization. He often encounters people willing to take a risk for more freedom and independence.

That’s true of people discouraged by their chances for advancement, disillusioned by corporate culture or out of a job after a layoff.

“In certain corporations even the most functional players in the organization are getting taken out of the game,” Marder says.

Many won’t find the independence and freedom they’re seeking. About 4 percent of new companies will still be in business after a decade, according to the business coach.

The pitfall for many of them? Marder says it is getting buried by the day to day without focusing on the bigger picture, the actual entrepreneurship.

Simply working more hours isn’t enough, he insists. The successful entrepreneur is always asking how he or she can grow, attract more customers, make it easier for people to buy the product.

‘What you make it’

To grow the distributorship the way he wants, Argabrite believes it takes a 7-day-a-week commitment.

That time isn’t limited to delivery for him.

When a teenager came to his door selling candy bars, Argabrite struck up a conversation about fundraisers. He’s now working on introducing his pork rinds to school groups hosting events.

When he sees someone buying a Mission soft taco shell or a jar of salsa, Argabrite makes sure to say thanks.

On weekends, he pops in on his biggest accounts just to make sure things look ship shape. He forever lobbies store managers for extra product space.

“I don’t want to be that guy who bothers everybody, but I try to be right on the edge of that guy,” he says.

Page 3 of 3 - Argabrite’s plan has a finish line. He hopes to grow his route large enough to split it into two — and sell the one farthest from home base.

Weekends with the family and outings with friends will come later.

“I’m not there yet,” Argabrite says. “But life is really about what you make it.